Tag Archives: the Hobbit

An Unknown Hobbit

Posted on April 24, 2020 by

Slovak illustrator Peter Klúcik was commissioned to illustrate a new version of J R R Tolkien’s The Hobbit in 1988. For the project he created 40 illustrations that were rich in detail and quite different from previous works for Tolkien … Continue reading →

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Gandalf has a blog

Posted on January 16, 2020 by

Starting in 1999 with his casting as Gandalf and continuing through 2003, Ian McKellan wrote a blog called The Grey Book about his experiences starring in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. If you are a fan, you’ll find … Continue reading →

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There and back again (again)

Posted on January 12, 2019 by

Last year I posted a story about the Oxford Bodleian Library once-in-a-lifetime exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle Earth, which was the most extensive public display of original Tolkien materials ever gathered in one place. This week I was dead chuffed to discover … Continue reading →

Posted in Animation, Art, Books, Libraries, Maps, movies, Museums, Photography, USA, Writing | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

There and back again

Posted on January 6, 2019 by

A buyer recently contacted me to help him find an American first edition of JRR Tolkien’s The Hobbit.  Since the amount that he was willing to pay was ridiculously below the usual prices that the title brings, I didn’t even bother … Continue reading →

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The Writer’s Map

Posted on October 26, 2018 by

Just published, The Writer’s Map is a marvelous atlas of literary journeys made by authors. The book explores maps that inspired literary works as well as examples of cartography from famous works of fiction and film. Daniel Reeve recounts his creation of … Continue reading →

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Long Walk To A Dark Place

Posted on April 24, 2018 by

A big h/t to Cameron Booth for the link to this marvelous Middle Earth “transit” map. Commissioned by Empire magazine,the brilliant map which plots the journeys of the key characters through the Peter Jackson film adaptations of The Hobbit and Lord of the … Continue reading →

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Back to Middle Earth

Posted on April 14, 2018 by

For readers like me, there is very exciting news about the upcoming publication of a “new” J.R.R. Tolkien book this August. Harper Collins has announced the publication of “The Fall of Gondolin”, a story of a hidden city of elves, … Continue reading →

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Middle Earth Parks

Posted on February 7, 2018 by

Dan Bell is a very talented amateur cartographer who loves J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic Middle Earth maps and national parks too. He has combined his interests in a wonderful series of Tolkien-style maps of parks in the U.K. and the U.S.. … Continue reading →

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J.R.R. reads The Hobbit

Posted on September 10, 2017 by

In 1952, J.R.R. Tolkien stopped by to visit a friend and to pick-up a manuscript. While he was there, the friend persuaded the author to record a bit of his novel The Hobbit. The 30-minute recording session wasn’t filmed, but … Continue reading →

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A trip to Middle Earth

Posted on July 22, 2017 by

Serious JRR Tolkien fans should begin planning a visit to Oxford next summer for the groundbreaking exhibition Tolkien: Maker of Middle-Earth. The show, which will be created by the Bodleian Library, will explore the world of Tolkien’s literary imagination through the largest … Continue reading →

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